


Encounter on Ziost

by Glass Wolf (tlanon)



Series: Price she paid verse [4]
Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Mental Torture, sith spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-19
Updated: 2008-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-12 00:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18000224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tlanon/pseuds/Glass%20Wolf
Summary: Jacen Solo has a run in with a sith spirit on ziost.





	Encounter on Ziost

**Author's Note:**

> First comments are screened and will never be read so please don't leave any. I don't even log into this account except when I'm adding older works simply so anyone who may be interested in them may read them.
> 
> I do not edit these fics this is simply archiving so all original mistakes are preserved Be Warned.
> 
> This fic has been backdated as close to its original publication date as I can get.

Encounter on Zoist

He paused in his study of the sith writing on the ancient temple walls briefly. He wasn’t sure why but for the last few days the sensation of being watched that he’d felt ever since arriving on Zoist had intensified. He had put off studying the sith for years; some remnant of the Jedi belief in the inherent evil of the techniques had kept him away. Now he had realized the answer wasn’t among any of the other traditions of the galaxy so he’d decided to see what the sith had to say. He doubted the sith traditions would offer a concrete answer but he believed like all the rest that they’d be a piece of the puzzle. He was about turn back to wall when he heard a faint noise. He reached out with the force and found only emptiness.

He frowned and suddenly sensed a surge of power in the force. He raised his hand to shield himself as crackling forks of lightening shot out of the darkness toward him. He was grateful for his years of research he doubted any other Jedi alive could so easily ward off that lightening. He waited surely his attacker would show themselves now that surprise wasn’t on their side.

He had a bit of a shock when they finally did emerge from the shadows. He recognized the duros as Qardin Llic one of the six Jedi who had left the order because they agreed with him on Vergere’s philosophy. “You are more powerful than this one thought Jacen Solo.” He said lurching toward him.

“Why are you trying to kill me, Qardin?” Jacen asked wondering if perhaps the man had lost himself to the sith spirits of Zoist he had shut his mind to them shortly after arriving but if Qardin had been unable to the chatter could have driven him insane. He noticed for the first time the sun tattoo burned into the green skinned alien’s forehead.

“I am not Qardin; I am Darth Imperiestrino.” He said with a broken cackle. “I will rule the galaxy once more.” He lurched forward suddenly drawing his light saber before leaping into the air toward Jacen.

He didn’t know what was wrong with Qardin but he needed to subdue him without hurting him so he triggered a dathomiri spell of the storm between them. He watched as Qardin hit the vortex and was ensnared. He knew that wouldn’t hold him long but if his guess was right the Duros had been in the dark temples a while. He triggered a second dathomiri spell a bright light just inches from his opponent’s revolving head. As the duros screamed in pain, he released the spell of the storm and yanked the light saber out of his opponent’s hand.

He frowned as he looked at the former Jedi laying on the ground. He was significantly stronger in the force than him but he shouldn’t have been able to win that easily. Whatever, was going on with him seemed to be affecting not just his mind but his ability with the force. “All right Qardin it’s time to get you some help.” He said moving toward the prone figure.

“I don’t need your help.” The Duros screeched as he screamed. “I’ll bury you alive.” Jacen felt the temple rocking as the insane Duros attempted to bring it down. He dropped Qardin’s light saber and reached out to stabilize the temple. He wasn’t surprised when Qardin drew the light saber to him and activated it. “You fool now you die.”

“What a waste.” Jacen said as he activated his own light saber with the temple still unstable he couldn’t afford to take any more chances. He dodged Qardin’s clumsy swing and with a precise slash of his own put the unfortunate Duros out of his misery. As the broken alien fell, he turned his attention back to stabilizing the temple.

He was just finishing up with his efforts when he sensed something. He turned to see the Qardin’s body sitting up. He stared at the jagged slash that marked where his light saber had ended his life. He sensed raw force energy tinged with darkness like all of Zoist flowing through the corps. He watched as it opened its mouth and vomited up a cloud of dark energy that coalesced into the shape of a woman. He realized it was a sith spirit not like the broken voices but a true Sith spirit of the kind Dark Lords of the Sith used to become. Before he could consider taking any action the woman’s hand shot forward and when the outstretched finger touched his forehead pain exploded in his skull.

When the pain subsided he looked around instead of a dank sith temple he was standing in what looked like a high-rise on Corusant. “Greetings Jacen Solo I am Darth Imperiestrino.” He turned toward the voice to see a beautiful blonde woman sitting on a throne. Her glowing yellow eyes and the black sun tattoo on her forehead revealing her as a sith lord. “I have been waiting for a long time for someone like you.”

“You were possessing Qardin?” He asked resolving to be careful. He assumed he had encountered a crazed Sith spirit that was trying to live again by possessing the bodies of the living.

“Yes, but it was completely unintentional and I am truly sorry that you had to kill him.” Jacen frowned, he hadn’t expected that though he wasn’t sure he bought her apology. “I was attempting to communicate with him as I am doing with you, but something went wrong.” She looked away. “I don’t know if his mind had already been damaged by the lesser spirits or if my human mind was simply incompatible with his Duros mind but somehow he absorbed me into himself.” She frowned. “He began to believe he was me and attacked anyone he came across all I could do was try to limit his connection to the force and free myself.”

“Why communicate like this at all why not just talk to him?” He had sensed something wrong with Qardin’s connection to the force and her explanation could have explained that. Still he wasn’t sure he could trust her and he wanted to know why she had pulled him into what was obviously some kind of mental construct.

“When I anchored my spirit, I was in bad shape and unable to do it properly.” She said calmly. “Allow me to tell you the entire story before you judge me?” Jacen nodded and watched her carefully as she got up from the throne that melted away. A spiraling map of the Galaxy appeared with most of the stars colored red and only a small section in blue. “This was my sith empire.” She said with pride. “I controlled most of the Galaxy and the Republic was considering my offer of surrender.” She gave him a look of utter confidence. “They would have accepted and our goal of ending all wars would have been met.”

She then looked away. “Unfortunately the Jedi couldn’t accept that their way didn’t work.” Jacen hated to admit it but she had the Jedi pegged he doubted her story of benevolent rulership but he knew first hand how close minded the Jedi could be. “When I arrived here on Zoist to retrieve a valuable holocron, I had been seeking for years they attacked in force.” She gestured and Jacen saw images of her and other sith fighting with Jedi and winning. “I just never expected that one of them would fight like a true sith.”

Jacen saw a single Jedi pressing a button on what looked like a signaling device before he was cut down. “Who did he signal?” He asked finding these glimpses of the past fascinating even if he felt they were still highly suspect.

“It was a homing beacon so a small fighter loaded with explosives and piloted by a Jedi could run past our defenses to crash into our location.” He saw the small ship impact where the Jedi had been cut down moments before and the explosion expand to engulf the battlefield. “I barely survived.” Jacen saw her laying there battered and broken. “As I lay dying I attempted to transcend death but I failed to complete the process leaving me trapped between life and death.” She looked away. “Without me to appoint a successor my followers tore our empire apart trying to be the next dark lord.” She looked away in disgust and soon all that was left of my mighty empire were feuding factions united by Ka’an and while I had hoped he’d restore the sith glory instead he was destroyed by that degenerate Bane.” She cursed. “That accursed line may have conquered the galaxy but it did so by embracing a madman like Palpatine who through his insanity destroyed the sith.”

Jacen could sense her obvious hatred of Palpatine and found it was the first thing she’d said that he didn’t doubt at all. “I finally managed to fight my way back to existence but there were no sith to commune with so I was forced to wait here on Zoist until the Duros arrived.” She looked back at him. “I tried to share my knowledge and vision for the galaxy with him but it went wrong.” She looked at him with a hungry look in her eyes. “I’m sure it will work with you let me give you my knowledge.”

She offered her hand but he knew in that moment that it would be foolish to take it. “You’re lying.” He said with absolute confidence. “There was no accident you tried to take his body just as you are planning on taking mine.”

She looked affronted but smiled. “True enough.” She said as he found himself back in her throne room. She walked and set on the throne. “I do intend to have your body I’ve wanted it ever since you arrived I could feel your power and I wanted it.”

“Then why this pointless history lesson.” He said angrily. “Why not just try to take it like you took his?” He saw her smile and felt a sense of foreboding. He barely got out of the way in time as the spell of the storm bloomed into existence where he’d been standing.

“I needed time to skim your mind and absorb your accumulated force lore.” She said rising as a crimson light saber appeared in her hand. “Once I kill you here, your mind will shatter and be completely gone.” She smiled darkly. “And I didn’t want all that work you had done collecting this knowledge to go to waste.”

Jacen found himself on the ropes rather quickly. He couldn’t seem to think of any way to counter her. She was good with a light saber and no matter what trick he tried to pull she all ways seemed to be ahead of him. “Give it up boy.” She laughed. “ I’m in your head remember, and I know everything you’re going to do before you do it.” As he tried to think of a way out of this mess she seemed to grow disinterested and as she skillfully blocked every slash she said. “I think I’ll take another look in your head as this is boring.”

The area they were fighting in changed to Yavin Four and to his horror he saw himself and Jaina playing with an animal he’d caught shortly after joining the Jedi academy. “This is a pathetic memory.” She said. “How about something juicier.” The scene changed again and he saw himself in the embrace of pain writhing in pain as Vergere instructed him. “Now this is entertaining.”

He smiled she had made a mistake showing him this as it allowed him to recall that pain and how he’d transformed it into strength. He saw her frown as he began to force her to concentrate. “Looks like relieving your torture actually helps you.” She then smiled. “Well if you like pain I’d love to see your idea of pleasure.” Even as she finished the terrain changed again instead of the broken duracrete of Corusant they were on a reef where nearby he and Dani were acting out the only time they’d ever been together intimately. “This is boring; the other time was more interesting.”

He took a swing at her head but where she had been moments before now was the bed he and Tenel Ka had shared after his sisters wedding. “This was when your daughter was conceived wasn’t it?” She said from behind him. “I love how cruel it was of her not to tell you she was using you to have a baby.” He was so angry over the mention of Tenel Ka and his daughter that he lashed out wildly and paid the price for it as her blade cut through his arms leaving him defenseless. “How pathetic even the Duros put up more of a fight.”

Jacen tried desperately to think up some means of stopping what was about to happen. “Oh by the way, I think you should know that I have big plans for that daughter of yours.” He snapped his head to look at her. She was enjoying this twisting the knife before she killed him. “When she’s old enough to take the throne I’ll kill her mother and then I’ll introduce her to a man’s touch with her father’s body.” Jacen felt horror and rage fill him at the implication. “I’ll then use that tragedy to shatter her mind and take her body after all not only is it my original gender but it comes complete with it’s own army to begin my new empire with.”

Jacen couldn’t hear a word she said any more the rage at the threats to his daughter had blocked out everything else and with it came a kind of cold clarity that made it clear that all he wanted to do was see this creature destroyed. He looked down at his ruined arms and realized that this was all illusionary he smiled as he hands reappeared. He looked up at her and smiled as she brought the light saber down he reached up and caught it. “I’ve figured it out.” He said darkly as she looked at him in shock. “This is my head and you have no power here unless I give it to you.” He smiled as the light saber in his hand winked out and its hilt exploded. “I understand everything now.” Feeling the force surge through him in a way he hadn’t felt since he destroyed Onimi he gestured and lightening poured from his hand throwing the sith spirit out of his mind. The image melted away to reveal himself still standing as he had been when the spirit touched him.

He looked at the startled spirit as it backed down the temple corridors. “You aren’t going anywhere.” He reached out and grabbed a hold of the force energy that made up her shadow form and drug her back to him. “You liked the embrace of pain let me show you how it felt.” He began to tear at her form and was pleased when she let out a horrible scream. “So you can talk after all?”

“Please have mercy I beg you.” She said between the screams. “I will do anything you ask I can share with you the secrets of the Sith.” She offered before he tore away another piece of her. He ignored her pleas as he placed his hand within her. “No, please don’t I’ll cease to exist.”

“I know.” He poured his rage into her letting that terrible force flow out of him and into her. She screamed and it shook the very fabric of the force but he didn’t care he wanted her dead so he kept pouring in the power till her form was annihilated.

His satisfaction at her destruction began to melt away as he felt faint. He’d expended so much effort he didn’t have the strength to stay conscious much longer. Not wanting to remain in the temple any more he headed for the exit fighting to stay awake as he paid the price for drawing so heavily on the force. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to reach the outside but as he walked away from the temple he caught his reflection in a stream that ran beside it. His face was hollow and his skin a pale greyish color but the worst was the sith tattoo and the glowing yellow eyes that marked his face. The horror of that sight pushed him the rest of the way over the edge and he collapsed.

He awoke to feel the force flowing over him like cold dark water. To his horror he saw another Sith spirit leaning over him. “Get away from me.” He shrieked as he backed away trying to draw enough strength from the force to stop this one.

“You have nothing to fear from me.” It said calmly. “Look in the water again.” He did so and to his shock his face was normal. “A gift for removing that blight from my temple.”

“How?” He asked as he’d never heard of any technique that could restore the damage he’d done to himself using that much power so easily. He could see other spirits in the distance approaching. “Tell your friends to stay back.”

“They are not my friends.” The sith said turning to look. “There are no friends among the sith.” He looked back at Jacen. “As to how the sith arts are capable of many things as you will some day learn.” He turned back toward his temple. “I will be leaving you now if you don’t wish to face the other spirits I suggest you leave this planet immediately.”

Jacen got to his feet he still felt uneasy but he sensed the truth in what the Sith was saying. If he remained, another opportunistic spirit might try to take over his mind. He hurried back to his ship and left with all possible speed. Once he was safely away from Zoist he set a course for Hapes. He wanted to see his daughter and Tenel Ka again. He needed to know they were all right.

The End...

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading


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